Departures could add to a busy deadline day

As we’d already seen with the proposed sale of Michael Dawson to QPR, it seems that few players are safe from AVB’s clearout of Harry’s men but just who will escape the deadline day cull?

Since the transfer window re-opened in June, the club has waved goodbye to Vedran Corluka, Steven Pienaar, Niko Kranjcar and Sebastien Bassong. We’ve also seen Dawson, Huddlestone and Van der Vaart linked with moves away from the club.

Stories suggest that the VDV move to Hamburg is still on but other parts of the media claim that the club is also willing to listen to offers for Aaron Lennon and Scott Parker.

Meanwhile, there are counter claims that this is all nonsense but there is a distinct possibility that an unexpected and unwanted departure will take place on Friday. At the same time, there is still the danger of Gomes, Bentley, Jenas and Dos Santos slipping under the radar.

Whatever happens, this is likely to be our busiest deadline day for many seasons.

Keep Dos Santos, he’s worth a try with the new formation, we can get rid of the others if they bring money in, but more importantly we need Moutinho, Willian and Lloris in by Friday. Great we got Dembele! eh!

Im in full agreement with you Top Dog so i dont have much to say apart from im getting a bit worried that we haven’t signed a striker yet which we need if we want to get anywhere near qualifing for Europe . One bit of good news we’ve got Demele now and he’s all signed up .

Whilst I am all for clearing the decks to make space for new arrivals. The recent rumours about the possible departures of Aaron Lennon and Scott Parker have left me a little bemused, especially as they were such influential figures in the team that finished fourth last season.

Upon arriving at the club, AVB clearly stated that his desire was to oversee evolution and not revolution amongst the current squad, for the forthcoming season. While this may have just been a ploy not to unsettle the team after a recent change in manager, I do believe that AVB will stay true to his word regarding the core of the first team (that played last term), therefore ruling out the departures of both Lennon and Parker, both of whom you would imagine fit perfectly into the new change in tactics Villas Boas will implement this season.

On his day, there isn’t a full-back in the land that can handle the pace and trickery of Aaron Lennon. And while I will acknowledge that the little winger has yet to fulfil his true potential in a Spurs shirt since breaking into the first team as a 17 year old, he still offers signs that the best may be yet to come.
The fact that he has taken it upon himself to drift in-field to receive the ball, instead of waiting on the wings and often going missing for large parts of the game, means to me that he is developing his ‘footballing brain’. Couple that to his pace and his technical ability I think we could have a winger to match the very best in Europe on our hands.
The thing for me that Lennon REALLY needs in my opinion, is a manager who recognises his true potential and promotes it frequently, much in the way former coach Martin Jol did. Under Redknapp, despite his level of performance, praise for Lennon was often in short supply, with Harry preferring to openly eulogise over other established stars i.e. Bale, Adebayor, Modric and VDV.
If AVB can convince the Lenny of his faith in him and his ability, I feel that we could have an even more lethal weapon on our hands!

As for Parker, if rumours are to be believed regarding potential signings (all of whom seem quite young in age), it is vital that we maintain someone with his leadership skills and experience. With Dawson seemingly surplus to requirements, having an player (preferably English) who understands how to motivate the group and sets the standards, be it in training or the field of play IS ESSENTIAL. At 31 years old Parker may find that he is not considered to start every game, like last season, especially with the continued emergence of our ‘Brazilian Dogs Body’ ( I use the term affectionately) Sandro, but with squad rotation and tactical preparation likely to be more frequently used under the new regime, Scott should/could still have a huge part to play.

If Dawson, VDV and Huddlestone do end up leaving the club, whilst I would not particularly encourage their departures, they would appear more understandable giving the direction, in terms of style of play, the team his heading in. All of them share one specific trait that would prevent them playing key parts in AVBs long term vision, and that is simply…they all lack the pace/mobility Villas Boas demands in order to commit to the high-tempo, pressing game for a full 90mins.

P.s. I also find it hard to imagine that Levy would completely abandon his policy of retain and obtaining a core of British players in the squad, which also means to me that he is unlikely to sanction the sales of Parker and Lennon, on top of Dawson and Huddlestone.